Green Tea + Exercise Dials Your Diet Up to "High"

For the first time, research has shown that drinking green tea along with exercising results in significantly more weight loss than doing either alone.

In the Penn State U. study, mice exercised and ate a highfat diet for 16 weeks; some also got a supplement equal to 8–10 cups a day of decaf green tea (to avoid any confusion caused by caffeine).

Result: Mice in the tea group lost about 27% of their body weight and cut fat around their little mouse abs by 37%—much more than the no-tea group. The tea group’s insulin levels were also 65% lower, a boon for diabetics. The study was geared to mimic the human situation as much as possible, researchers say, so hopes are high that people would experience similar results.

And yes, 8–10 cups a day sounds like a lot (even if it’s decaf)—but green tea’s also thought to fight cancer, heart disease, and myriad other ills, so it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot.